Is It an Alzheimer’s Symptom or Normal Aging?

Not all forgetfulness is indicative of Alzheimer's Disease; some minor
memory issues are just part of the aging process. But do not let
blatant symptoms be written off as normal aging.

With the major focus and most widely known symptom of Alzheimer’s
disease being affiliated with memory, a lot of people are oversensitive
to memory issues. Some memory loss and related issues are just a part of
aging. While you should never diagnose a loved one yourself, these are
some situations to look for.

If a person often loses his keys, he may just need a better routine. If a
person, however, loses his keys and they are found in a strange place
like the refrigerator, there may be reason to be concerned. One incident
could be a case of a frazzled day. If a person gets into a car and
seems puzzled as how to start the ignition, there is also reason to
research further.

A situation that often happens as patients debilitate is the constant
repetition of exact conversations. For example, a mother says to her
adult daughter, “Why are you limping?” The daughter answers, “I broke my
toe,” only to have the mother declare minutes later, “Gracious, you are
limping, is something wrong with your foot?” This conversation could
continue for the entire visit between the mother and the daughter, and
the next time the mother visits, the daughter’s injury will be brand
new. However, a situation in which the mother knows the daughter is
injured but it slips her mind one night when she asks the daughter to go
on a walk, is probably just a reasonable slip up.

Those beginning to feel and identify early signs of Alzheimer’s Disease
may become offensive at the suggestion that they are wrong about
something, that they need help, or that they did something wrong. A man
may defend himself endlessly claiming something such as, “The directions
said to put the whole pizza box in the oven.” While most of us have
mistakenly put a frozen pizza in the oven forgetting to separate it from
the thin piece of cardboard on the bottom, a person exhibiting
Alzheimer’s symptoms will defend his wrongdoing as someone else’s fault,
and will take offense and exhibit
anger if accused otherwise.

Other Alzheimer’s symptoms include losing interest in favorite
activities, being inclined to stay home forgetting the steps of everyday
tasks like “brush, floss, rinse,” wearing inappropriate clothes for the
weather, or wearing more than one of a certain garment.

Many who are watching a patient slowly debilitate will cling to lucid
moments claiming that it cannot be Alzheimer’s. There are, however,
seven identified stages of the disease symptoms with only the last
couple finding a person in total dysfunction. As soon as you see cause
for concern, begin to investigate and contact a doctor immediately.
Currently there are medical possibilities that can slow the progression
of the disease if it is treated in one of the earlier stages, but denial
often robs a patient of effective treatment.